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Program: Regional Sustainable Economic Development around the Globe

Friday, June 6, 2025

  • 0:00–3:10: Informal Talking
  • 3:10–4:15: Tjeerd Boonman, Ph.D., Presents Overview of the Opening Session
  • 4:20–11:50: President Patrick F. Leahy, Ed.D.
  • 11:55–18:25: Dean Raj Devasagayam, Ph.D.
  • 18:30–21:10: Harald Sander, Ph.D. (Co-organizer)
  • 21:10–22:20: Boonman, Ph.D., Introduces the Keynote Speaker
  • 22:25–47:49: Keynote speaker Avik SInha, Ph.D., presents

8–8:15 a.m.

Opening Remarks

  • Patrick F. Leahy, Ed.D., President, Monmouth University
  • Raj Devasagayam, Ph.D., Dean, Leon Hess Business School, Monmouth University
  • Tjeerd Boonman, Ph.D., Workshop Co-organizer, Monmouth University
  • Harald Sander, Ph.D., Workshop Co-organizer, TH Köln and Maastricht University

8:15–9 a.m.

Keynote Lecture: Avik Sinha, FPM (HeXie Management Research Centre, Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University, Suzhou, China P.R.)

Title: The challenges of electric vehicle battery recycling in China

Sinha’s research focuses on energy and environmental economics, sustainable development, and applied econometrics. He has published over 100 papers which have received more than 16,000 citations. The lecture is based a.o. on his recent publication in Nature.

  • Sinha, A., Wu, J., Sheraz, M., & Qin, Q. (2025). China needs to deal with discarded electric-vehicle batteries. Nature, 641(594)

9–11 a.m.

Session 1.A

Chair: Caterina Rho (European Commission)
  1. Alessandra La Notte (European Dynamics under contract with the European Commission)
    • The assessment of nature-related risks: from ecosystem services vulnerability to economic exposure and financial disclosures
    • Discussant: Oumniya Agrandi
  2. Cosimo Magazzino (Roma Tre University, Italy)
    • The Dynamic Relationship Among Health Expenditures, Carbon Emissions, and Economic Growth: Evidence from G7 Countries Using Wavelet Coherence Analysis
    • Discussant: Tjeerd Boonman
  3. Caterina Rho (European Commission)
    • Flooded credit markets: physical climate risk and small business lending
    • Discussant: Gabriel Porcile

Session 1.B

Chair: Xuebing Yang (Penn State University at Altoona, USA)
  1. Kevin Pirazzi Maffiola (School of Banking, Finance, and Insurance; Catholic University of the Sacred Hearth, Italy)
    • Cash holdings and ESG: The moderating effect of family control and family CEOs
    • Discussant: Marco Hernandez-Vega
  2. Marco Hernandez-Vega (Banco de Mexico, Mexico)
    • Sectoral and Regional Differences in the Financial Impact of GHG Emissions Reduction
    • Discussant: Patrycja Chodnicka-Jaworska
  3. Simona Russo (Link Campus University, Rome, Italy)
    • Banks’ sustainable funding: does corporate governance matter?
    • Discussant: Massimiliano La Marca
  4. Patrycja Chodnicka-Jaworska (University of Warsaw, Poland)
    • ESG Ratings Greenwashing – Impact of ESG Ratings on Sector Stock
    • Discussant: Bochen Li

11–11:15 a.m.

Coffee Break

11:15 a.m.–12:15 p.m.

Session 2.A

Chair: Michael Chattalas (Monmouth University)
  1. Clara Pardo (Uni Rosario, Colombia)
    • Identifying the determinants of the energy transition in departments in Colombia: An analysis with spatial econometrics
    • Discussant: Adriana Abrego
  2. Tewodro Gutema (Howard University, USA)
    • The Causal Effect of Conflict on Food Insecurity: Evidence for Ethiopia
    • Discussant: Adriana Abrego

Session 2.B

Chair: Harald Sander (TH Koln, Germany)
  1. Andrea Gatto (Wenzhou Kean University, China and CED, Italy)
    • Energy transition in Chinese regions
    • Discussant: Chen Meng
  2. Jaishree Sharma (Monmouth University, USA); Srishti Saxena (MNIT, India); Sheetal Mundra (JK Lakshmipat University, India)
    • Impact of Innovation, Human Capital, and Digitalization on Sustainable Growth in Top Five Economies of the World: A Panel Data Approach
    • Discussant: Simona Russo

12:15–1 p.m.

Lunch Break

1–2:30 p.m.

Session 3.A

Chair: Serafin Martinez (World Bank)
  1. Federico Rega (Tor Vergata University of Rome, Rome, Italy)
    • Development Finance and Sustainable Banking: Evidence from the European banking industry
    • Discussant: Razvan Vlaicu
  2. Massimiliano La Marca (International Labour Organization)
    • Temporary and permanent effects of infrastructure investment: the case of Malawi
    • Discussant: Federico Rega
  3. Razvan Vlaicu (Inter-American Development Bank)
    • Child labor, rainfall shocks, and financial inclusion: evidence from rural households
    • Discussant: Kevin Pirazzi Maffiola

Session 3.B

Chair: Chen Meng (Kean University, USA)
  1. Peter Jacques (Monmouth University, USA)
    • Regional Sustainable Economic Development in the Caribbean
    • Discussant: Alessandra La Notte
  2. Julia Juárez (UNAM, Mexico)
    • Sustainable growth in Mexico: The Challenge of the NDCs in a peripheral country
    • Discussant: Caterina Rho
  3. Oumniya Agrandi (University Mohammed VI Politecnic: UM6P, Morocco)
    • Dual Resource Dependencies and Innovation in Middle-Income Economies: A VARX Analysis of the Dynamics Shaping Egypt’s Sustainable Development Nexus
    • Discussant: Cosimo Magazzino

2:30–2:45 p.m.

Closing Remarks

  • Andrea Gatto, Ph.D., Workshop Co-organizer, Wenzhou Kean University, China, and CED, Italy
  • Tjeerd Boonman, Ph.D., Workshop Co-organizer, Monmouth University